Pago Pago, AMERICAN SAMOA — Great news for local veterans — VA Pacific Islands Health Care System is opening a new mental health clinic at the Faleomavaega Eni Hunkin Outpatient Clinic at the Army Reserve Building, in American Samoa. The expanded services will include added specialty care services, and laboratory expansion.

VA Health Care is working to expand services for Veterans across the Pacific Islands, and this expansion project aims to provide more care delivered directly to Veterans in American Samoa, reducing the need for travel to O’ahu and the mainland United States.

Samoa News notes that many local veterans go to Hawai’i or the US mainland for their yearly health checkups — physical & mental — paid for by the VA, including travel.

A blessing of the space will be held on December 18, 2024, and the new clinic services will be available in January 2025.

“This long-awaited expansion is aligned with leadership’s vision to continually enhance the patient experience of all of the veterans in American Samoa,” said Dr. Fred Uhrle Jr., Chief of the American Samoa VA Clinic.

VAPIHCS also has a new Urgent Care option for Veterans in the Pacific Islands. The new Health Connect Clinical Contact Center will provide easy, on-demand services to Veterans. By calling 833-983-0487, Veterans can reach a Clinical Contact Center employee who can address their emergent needs quickly and efficiently.

What the Clinical Contact Center can help you with:

• Pharmacy Services

• Scheduling Appointments

• Tele-Emergency Care

• Clinical Nurse Triage

Veterans may still call 988, then press 1 to contact the Veterans Crisis Line. If you are a Veteran who would like to enroll for VA health care, please call 1-800-214-1306.

(Source: VA press release)